The Color Red
by RadiatedMarshmallow
Summary: Sky always wanted to be the red ranger, right?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes:  
*Dusts off computer* So this is my first time on FFN, but this isn't my first fic. It's been months since I've published anything on any site, so I apologize if I'm a little rusty. This fic is nearly complete, so expect regular updates ranging from a few days, to a week. I don't want to post it all at once due to spam issues and hey, what's the fun in that? c:  
Oh, and I'll also have some sort of one-shot that I plan on posting tomorrow.  
Warnings: Some slash and slight smut (nothing more than what could be in a borderline PG or mild PG-13 movie). Also some language I believe

It was one in the afternoon on the Space Patrol Delta Earth base. Activity was bustling all over. Scientists were at work in their labs, children were in their academy classes, and the B-Squad cadets were enjoying some rare free time. However, this peace was quickly interrupted.

"_B-Squad cadets to the command center now!" _Commander Cruger's voice ordered over the base's loudspeaker.

Sky gently put down his novel, hurriedly put on his uniform jacket, and followed his fellow rangers out of their rooms.

"And I was just getting to the good part in my movie!" Syd whined.

The other rangers scoffed and rolled their eyes. "Would you rather Grumm take over Earth?" questioned Jack, "If so, by all means stay."

"I'm sorry," Syd retorted, "I was just saying…"

"Honestly guys, do you really think that our constant bickering is going to help us defeat the Troobians?" snapped Sky as they all approached the command center's entrance.

"Well agreed," added Commander Cruger as they walked inside.

The rangers all saluted their commander. "At ease," he said.

"So what's the problem?" asked Z.

"It seems as if Grumm has sent another monster down to Newtech City," said the commander, "Kat will fill you in on the details."

Dr. Manx gave him a small smile and nodded. She tapped a few buttons on her data pad and a holographic image appeared before them all. The alien pictured was rather large. Black armor covered most of his body. His head resembled that of a lizard's. "His name is Zortech," the scientist continued, "He has no criminal record anywhere in the galaxy and has never appeared on Earth before. We assume it may be one of Grumm's new creations."

"Do we have any information on what he does or if he has any certain powers?" asked Sky.

"We don't have much information on him," Kat replied, "Only calls from citizens and this video."

She pressed a few more buttons and the video played on one of the nearby screens. It was taken on the security cameras at a local bank and showed the alien exiting with lots of money in his possession. Terrified citizens fled in his path. "Something tells me that money isn't his…" commented Bridge.

"Precisely," Kat replied, "But after that video was taken, Zortech hasn't made another appearance on this planet. I advise you all to stay alert and ready to battle at anytime."

As if on cue, the base's alarm went on. "Word on the situation Kat?" asked the commander. "Yes, it's Zortech. He's committing another robbery in sector six. Rangers, suit up."

The rangers nodded and pulled out their morphers.

xxx

"All I'm telling you is that we could have caught that freak if we went into SWAT mode quicker!" shouted Sky as the rangers headed back into their personal quarters.

The battle with Zortech had been a disaster. The armor that had been depicted on his body in Kat's hollagram turned out to be completely indestructible. None of their weapons were able to penetrate it. Even Sky's force field was unable to stop the monster from harming him and the rest of the rangers. They attempted to phase into SWAT mode as a last resort, but Zortech had attacked them, which cause them to all automatically power down. The battle was a loss.

"Well I'm sorry, but I thought it would be best if we tried to defeat him without it!" Jack replied.

"Well your plan obviously didn't work!"

"This isn't the first time we've been defeated before! We're always able to get them eventually!"

"_Eventually?_ Jack! We don't have time to 'eventually' defeat enemies! Grumm is just outside in space, just waiting for us to be vulnerable enough to be conquered. We can't waste time on stupid bank robbing aliens! We need to defeat them, move on, and get back to protecting Earth!" Sky yelled in frustration.

"Sky, I'm sorry but I'm the red ranger. I'm the leader of the squad, not you, whether you like me tactics or not," Jack replied, with just as much anger.

"Well it's obviously a shame, because I honestly think Grumm would be gone right now if Cruger picked me as red ranger instead of you." Sky retorted.

He instantly regretted saying it. "Jack, I'm sorry. It's just I get frustrated when things don't go my way and…" he protested.

"Save it," muttered Jack, "I now understand that you see me as inferior. Just leave me alone now, okay?"

Jack stormed off, leaving Sky to face the other rangers alone. He sighed as he typed the combination to enter their dorm rooms. "What was going on out there?" asked Z as he walked inside, "You two were really going at it out there. And what happened to Jack?"

"He walked off. It was my fault really," Sky mumbled, "I really don't feel like talking about it right now. Do you know where Bridge is?"

Z gave him a sympathetic smile, "In your room," she replied, "I'm not sure what exactly he's doing."

Sky nodded and headed over to the small room that they both shared. His mood instantly changed when he walked in and saw Bridge lying on his bed reading one of his strange technology magazines.

Only his fellow rangers knew, but he and Bridge had been in a relationship for the past year. The two had known each other since they first joined the academy as young kids. They had grown a strong friendship that was nearly unbreakable. Sky had always hoped that Bridge would be with him on his wedding day sometime in the future, but he never could have guessed that the person he was there with to commit his life to could possibly be him. He wasn't sure what caused him to have feelings for the green ranger, but he was sure that living together was definitely a contributing factor. Living with someone was such a close and intimate thing. You see the other person at their very best and at their absolute worse, you learn things about the person that no other probably can, and you also get to go to sleep and wake up with them too. Living together can either bring two people closer together, or completely tear them apart. Luckily, it brought he and Bridge together. Out of all the things Sky knew about his connection to Bridge Carson, there was only one that made him sick to his stomach at just the thought of it. He knew that what they had was completely against regulation. That if they were to ever be caught, they would be expelled from SPD and rejected by society. Sky knew how couples under their circumstances were treated. He would have thought that by their time, tolerance would be second nature, but it unfortunately wasn't. His status in society would be completely ruined if anyone outside of his squad found out. It took months for him to even become comfortable with taking the risk of having any physical contact with Bridge. It was only recent when they both came out to their squad. Even now, much of this was done behind closed doors and really late at night when the possibility of being interrupted was low.

"Why hello there," Bridge looked up from his reading with a smile.

"Hi," said Sky.

"So I heard you and Jack were having issues again…" started Bridge, a hopeful look on his face.

"Don't want to talk about it."

Bridge's hopeful expression fell. "And I thought you would at least tell me."

Sky sighed and joined his lover on his bed. "I'll just tell you that it ended badly," he said quietly.

"What did you say this time?"

Sky hesitated.

"Well it couldn't have been that bad…"

"I… I told him I thought we would have defeated Grumm already under my command as the red ranger. I basically said he was a terrible leader."

Bridge put down his magazine and turned over to look at Sky. "You know if you were a red ranger, we would have never gotten this room together."

"So? I'm sure we would have still found each other."

"You really think so? Because I quite remember you telling me that you started developing your feelings toward me after seeing how hot I looked after a shower." Bridge gave him a small smirk.

"Did not!" protested Sky, "But you still look good in a towel."

Bridge laughed. "Oh do I?" he asked.

"Indeed," Sky replied, leaning over and planting a kiss on Bridge's lips.

Once he pulled away, Bridge eagerly returned the favor. Sky groaned and began to gently roll himself on top of his lover. Bridge began to run his hands beneath his shirt in an attempt to discard the unwanted fabric. However, once he managed to get his shirt off, there was a knock at their door. "Guys? We're going to dinner. If you want to come along, be ready in five minutes!" yelled Syd from the outside.

Sky broke the kiss. "Sure, we'll be there!" he replied.

Giving Bridge a look of apology, he slid off the bed and put his shirt back on. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I'm starving."

"I would have to agree on that one," replied Bridge, "I just got a really sudden craving for some toast."

xxx

When they arrived back at their room, it was already late at night. "Well that was some lovely restaurant Syd picked out," Bridge commented.

"Yes, it was lovely," Sky replied, "However, it was ridiculously overpriced. They charged thirty dollars for an unbelievably small salad! I could get one just as good and two times the size for less than five here."

Bridge laughed, "Indeed. I was very relieved when she said dinner was on her."

Sky nodded in agreement. "It's late," he said "I'll get in the shower, then we can go to bed. Which one are we using tonight?"

" Yours I guess."

After Sky's shower, the couple changed into their pajamas and curled up into bed together. "You know, I really meant what I said about being happy that you were chosen as the blue ranger. It really did turn out okay," said Bridge.

"If okay means Jack jeopardizing the well being of the universe, then I'd agree," Sky replied.

"So you would rather be the red ranger than be with me?" there was an obvious tone of hurt in his voice.

"No, that's not what I'm saying, it's just that…"

"It's just that what, Sky?" Bridge interrupted, "That even now, even after what we have, you still put the job first? I should have known."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"When we came out to the other rangers, they asked me why I had chosen to fall in love with you. I told them that I thought you changed and if you still hadn't, I could change you. I was obviously wrong. You're still cold, arrogant, and selfish, just like before."

"Love? You love me? Bridge, that's a really strong word. I think it's a little early to…"

"To what? Say it? It's been one year! I think that's plenty enough time to realize that you love someone. Are you saying that you don't love me?"

"I'm not saying that, it's just that it's a rather strong word to just be throwing around…"

"I'm not throwing it around," Bridge snapped, "I really meant it and I thought you felt the same way too."

Sky was about to reply, but was interrupted by a call on his morpher. "Cadet Tate," he answered, holding up a finger to silence Bridge. "Okay. Yes, yes. I'll be down in a second."

Sky closed his morpher, got out of bed, and began to change into his uniform.

"Where are you going?" asked Bridge.

"That was Cruger. He saw something strange on the radar and wants me to investigate. It's probably just a misreading. I promise I'll be back soon. Can we discuss this later?"

"Of course, as always! Duty calls! Whatever," Bridge grumbled

Sky gave him an angry glare and stormed out of the room.

xxx

He cruised around the area in which the strange energy appeared, but nothing was to be found. Stopping his motorcycle, he pulled out his morpher to call Cruger to tell him that it was all clear. However, as if on cue, Zortech appeared.

"Zortech!" he shouted, "I should have known this probably was you! You'll have your defeat now that I'm in charge!"

Sky quickly morphed into his ranger suit, withdrew his sword and attacked. Unfortunately, the alien's armor proved to be too powerful once more. "Hahaha! Foolish blue ranger!" the villain yelled, "You will never defeat me!"

With that, he withdrew his own sword and gave Sky a powerful strike. The ranger was thrown to the ground and instantly powered down.

"So you think you're better than the red ranger?" sneered Zortech, "I'd have to say you're both equally weak to me!"

"That is not true!" Sky shouted, "I'm a much better ranger than he is!"

"Well you've already lost to me, I highly doubt you would be any better wearing red!"

"I'd be better than Jack!"

"Silly ranger! You can't even keep your own relationship together! How can you expect to run a whole squad? I'll spare you this time, but next time, be ready for your downfall!"

"Wait, how did you know…"

But the alien pressed a button on his armor and teleported before he could finish his question.

"Damn it!" said Sky "He got away again!"

He got up from his place on the ground and attempted to wipe the dirt off his uniform. As he headed back to his bike, he noticed that the monster left something behind. It was a small black stone, not more than an inch wide, with a white triangle painted on it. "This could be something important," he said, "I'll have Kat analyze it in the morning."

He yawned. "For now, I'm beat."

Sky returned to his room at around midnight. He noticed that Bridge was gone. "He's probably sleeping in Boom's room tonight. Did I really make him that angry? So much for getting sleep tonight," he muttered. He put the strange stone in his nightstand and curled up in his empty bed.

A/N: So has taking time off affected my writing terribly? Reviews are much appreciated c:


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: And chapter two is here! (:

Warnings: Some language (I think)

Oh! I forgot this last time…

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers. If I did, then almost all of my childhood fantasies would have came true. Hahaha.

Sky awoke the next morning to the head splitting sound of his alarm. He groaned as he reached next to him to wake Bridge up. They both hated early morning drills. However, he felt nothing but empty sheets. _"Oh right," _he thought, _"he must be still pissed at me."_

He stretched out his arms and opened his eyes. The room he was in was not his own. The two twin-sized beds on opposite sides of the room were gone and were replaced with one large king-sized one placed in the middle. What was even stranger was the fact that the walls, that used to be half blue and half green, were now one color: red. Sky instantly knew where he was. "Why am I in Jack's room?" he asked aloud "Have I been sleep walking?"

But something told him that this wasn't just sleep walking, because when you sleep walk, you don't bring all of your possessions along with you. "Oh I get it," he continued, "Real funny guys! Great prank, trying to make me think I'm the red ranger. Can you please put all my things back into my room when we get back from drills?"

There was no response. "Strange," he muttered, "Well I guess I better get ready."

Having his own bathroom for the day was lovely. Even though he enjoyed sharing a room with Bridge, having to wait on him and his long bubble baths was extremely annoying. He didn't know how many times he had begged him to start taking showers.

The red ranger's shower and bathroom was much nicer than the one back in his room. It was considerably larger and it didn't run out of hot water. Today was the one day that he didn't have to rush before the water turned icy cold. Finally waking up an hour earlier than everyone else had a good purpose.

When it was time to get changed, he encountered a problem. "It seems as if they forgot to leave me my own uniform in here and Jack forgot to take his," he said, "I can't just walk out there in a towel and ask them to give it to me. What size is this?"

He pulled the uniform out of the closet and checked the size. Miraculously, it was perfect for him, even though Jack was much shorter than him and considerably less built. "I guess I could try it. It won't hurt anyone," he said.

Then there was a knock at the door. "Red ranger sir!" Syd's voice shouted from outside, "Commander Cruger wants us in the command center for morning briefing in five minutes sir!"

"In a second!" Sky called back.

Then it hit him. "Wait… Syd. Did you just call me the _red _ranger?"

But she had already left.

xxx

When they arrived, they all gave their commander the usual salute. "At ease," said Cruger, "Today's briefing will consist of the cleanup and reparations of Grumm's almost conquest of Earth. Since things will probably be relatively low key for now, that is until the next evil alien overlord arrives, I would like you all to help."

The rangers all nodded in agreement. Sky, however, was extremely confused. "Commander," he said, "you're telling me that we already defeated Grumm?"

"Yes cadet," Cruger replied, "I think out of all people, you should know that. You were the one who led this squad to victory after all."

"Me?" asked Sky, "Why would I be leading the squad? I'm the blue ranger… Jack's the red ranger."

"But you're wearing red."

"That's because I woke up in Jack's room for some odd reason. I didn't have my uniform and I was running late, so I noticed this one was my size and just wore it. Wait, what's going on?"

"Are you okay?" asked Bridge, "You seem a little confused."

"Yeah, and trust me, you didn't wake up in my room," said Jack, "Either me or Bridge would have noticed."

"What are you talking about?" Sky asked, "I share a room with Bridge. I'm the blue ranger and he's green. That's just how things work."

"No, Jack is the blue ranger…" said Bridge, "Where have you been? Or who are you?"

The green ranger slipped his glove off and waved his hand. "Your aura seems normal," he continued, "Maybe you're just getting sick. But then again, you did take a really nasty fall during the last battle…"

"Tate. After today's briefing, go with Dr. Manx. Maybe she can figure out what's wrong," said the commander.

Sky nodded in agreement. Maybe Kat would make at least something make sense for once.

xxx

"Well your vital signs are fine and you have no signs of sickness," said Kat.

Sky had followed Cruger's orders and went to visit the scientist in hope of having her explain what had happened.

"I even checked cadet Carson's theory about your fall, but you have no serious brain damage. I'll need to run a blood sample to do further research, but at the time, I see nothing that's wrong."

Sky chewed his lip in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense though," he said, "Last night, I fell asleep in the blue and green rangers' room as the blue ranger. Then this morning, I woke up alone, as the red ranger. Things like this don't just happen…"

Kat gave him a small apologetic smile. "I understand that you're very confused; I would be too if I were in your shoes, but the best you can do is trust me. I'll have your blood sample running in no time. If the story you're telling is somehow true, then I'll go through whatever means to put things back to normal."

"Thanks Kat," he said.

The doctor pulled out a blood sample kit and stuck the needle in his arm. After about a minute, she pulled it back out and put a stopped on the vial containing a few ounces of his blood. "You can go back to your living quarters now with the other rangers," she said with a smile.

Sky hopped off the testing table and headed down the hall.

"_Well I was nothing but right!" _he thought as he made his way to his room, _"I do make a better red ranger than Jack. Cruger should have picked me all along. Then we wouldn't have to be dealing with Grumm and his army of freaks anymore. This is great, I get my own room, a bigger bed, and control over all the other rangers. Not to mention all the special upgrades that are only for me too. Maybe I can deal with this for a while…"_

His thoughts stopped once he reached the door to the B-Squad's living quarters. He typed in the passcode and the doors slid open, inviting him inside. The instant he entered, Syd was at his side in an instant.

"Oh honey!" she said in a sympathetic voice, "Are you fine? Sick? Any brain damage?"

The pink ranger quickly reached up and felt his forehead for any signs of fever.

"No Syd," said Sky, laughing, "I'm totally fine. Kat said I'm not sick or anything, but she's running blood tests to be sure."

"Well that's very good," she said, "You had me so worried there."

"You don't need to worry. I'll be fine."

"Since you're okay," Syd said, pulling him down so that he was at her level. "I thought it would be nice if we celebrated. I'll meet you in your room later tonight?" she said in a hushed voice.

"What?"

"Oh you're so cute when you don't catch on to things!" she giggled.

Then he understood."Uh, Syd, I'm very flattered and all… but what about Bridge?" replied Sky, obviously confused.

"What about Bridge?" she asked, seeming even more confused than he was, "Well he's with Z if that's what you mean by your question. I don't see why he would have a problem with us getting together tonight?"

"With Z? What are you talking about?"

"You really are confused, aren't you?"

"Bridge or not, I thought you at least knew? I'm not really attracted to…"

Syd laughed, "Schuyler Tate! You are as far from gay as any man could be! I should know."

"What do you mean you should know?" Sky asked, but realization soon hit him, "Oh… I see. I'm sorry, I really don't feel up to it tonight. Maybe some other time?"

The least he could do is attempt to play the part.

"Okay, but it better happen."

Syd released her iron grip on his shirt and walked away. Sky could obviously tell that she was frustrated with him. He didn't understand why. It wasn't his fault that he was magically transformed into the red ranger overnight and was extremely confused. It seemed as if he were in a completely separate world, where everything was backwards and downright wrong. "I should maybe get some sleep," he said to himself.

xxx

Sky tossed and turned in his bed, trying to make sense of everything. _"List the things that you know," _he thought, _"Okay, I went to sleep as the blue ranger, but now I am the red ranger. Jack is the blue ranger. I defeated Grumm. Bridge isn't my boyfriend. Syd is my girlfriend. I am not sick. I did not ruin my brain. Kat is going to get me out of here."_

He had been in his room for what seemed like hours, just trying to put the puzzle together. Something wasn't right. People didn't just magically wake up in separate lives for no reason. Someone, or something, put him here.

"_So lets say that you have to stay here forever," _he continued, _"What are the pros and cons? Pros: I'm finally the red ranger, Grumm is gone, I get my own room, I get my own shower, and if I think from a straight guy's point of view, Syd is pretty damn hot. Cons: I don't remember anything, Bridge isn't mine.. Are there really only that many cons?."_

Sky sat up and ran his hands through his hair. _Bridge isn't mine._ The thought ran through him again. He never thought that so much could have changed if Cruger selected him as the red ranger. Was it really worth it to him anymore? Red was just a color, right? But being red ranger gave you power. You got all the special weapon upgrades first, and were often favored for special assignments. Everything that he ever wanted was here with him right now, but he still felt as if something were missing.

"Maybe Bridge was right," he said, "Maybe being the blue ranger was best for me."

Sky shook his head. He wasn't going to let missing Bridge let him down. Many of the rangers often thought of him as very cold and emotionless. However, they didn't understand why he was that way. Sky knew that enemies could often use your emotions against you in battle. It was much more responsible to just bottle everything up and keep it hidden in the world. The job came first, then your feelings. But he then realized, that Bridge had caused him to betray that ideology. After all, he did cause him to lose concentration from his work.

"_That evil little prick," _he thought, _"He's ruining this whole thing for me. If I wasn't missing him so bad, I would be enjoying this new life very much, but he just had to ruin that. Him and Z. The thought of it just makes me laugh. If he's going to have a girlfriend instead of me, then he can. I can do just as well."_

He got off of his bed and headed out to the rangers' common room. "How was your nap?" Syd asked.

"Couldn't sleep," he replied, "Too much going on in my head."

"Like what?"

"Don't really want to talk about it."

"Oh I see; still the same emotionless 'I keep everything bottled in' Sky I've always known."

Sky rolled his eyes at her. "That's not funny," he snapped, "Enemies often see emotion as a sign of weakness."

"Well there's no enemies in here right now, are there? Now tell me what's wrong!"

He sighed, "I won't tell you what's wrong, but I will tell you something that can make it better.

"And what would that be?"

He leaned over to her and whispered, "Tonight, my room. One hour after curfew."

Syd grinned at him. "And is there anything you would like me to bring along?" she asked seductively.

"Just your best outfit."

He couldn't help but smile.

A/N: Reviews would totally be appreciated. I would really love to know if this story is any good and if I should keep posting. (:


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know I said I was discontinuing this story due to the lack of interest. However, there was one lovely follower and reviewer and I couldn't stand to let them down. I absolutely can't stand not knowing what happens in the end of a story, so I didn't want to do that to someone else. Remeber, reviews help me know if this story is really worth keeping or not.

Warnings: Sky/Syd (Don't panic. It won't last long), some smut (a little more extreme than chapter one), and language.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers. I'm not making any money off this.

It was past curfew and while most of the rangers were already sleeping or getting ready for bed, Sky was getting ready for his night with Syd. He never really had a girlfriend before, due to the fact that he was so busy concentrating on his career. There was one girl that he dated when he was in the academy, but the instant he became a ranger, he knew that he had to leave her. After that, he never really dated. That was until Bridge.

The whole Syd thing was adding quite a bit of stress to his night. He had taken a shower and restyled his hair. He even wore his best aftershave. But he still had no clue what to wear. _"What do girls like?"_ he wondered desperately to himself.

He already had decided on a pair of tight Calvin Klein briefs. Many models he saw in magazines wore them, and Syd and Z were always fawning over them. However, he didn't know what else to wear. Did she usually like him to be fully dressed? Or did she like just the underwear. Sky checked his watch. He only had ten more minutes. _"I need to think of something quick!"_ he thought. Suddenly, he got an idea.

He made his way to the shower and turned it on, allowing water to pour over his recently styled hair. Then he let it run all over his body and finally tuned the water off. After stepping out of the tub, he dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist. "Forget the underwear; that should do it," he said, "And now, I wait."

It wasn't long until there was a soft knock on his door. "Sky," Syd's soft voice whispered from outside, "Can I come in?"

Sky made sure his towel was adjusted correctly and headed to answer the door. "Hello there," he said with a smile as he let her in, "Sorry about the wait, I just got out of the shower."

"Totally fine," she said, looking his body up and down, taking in his glory, "I don't mind at all."

Sky smiled. He knew that he got the whole thing right.

"Don't worry," Syd continued, "I brought just what you asked me to."

The pink ranger stripped off her academy issued pajamas, baggy sweatpants and a pink T-shirt, and revealed what she was wearing. "So," she asked, "what do you think?"

Under her unflattering pajamas, she had put on a set of pink and black lingerie complete with stockings, lacy underwear, and a matching corset. "I found it last week," she said, "I couldn't wait to show you."

Sky had a strange feeling inside of him that he just couldn't recall ever feeling for a woman. _"What is this?" _he thought to himself, _"Arousal? But I've never been attracted to…"_

Syd interrupted his thoughts, "Are we going to get started or not?" she asked, obviously getting impatient.

"Oh yeah, sure," he replied.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. It was very different than Bridge for sure. She was a lot more gentle and small than another man. It just didn't feel right. Sky broke away from the kiss. "What's wrong?" asked Syd.

"I don't know," he replied, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Oh please. I think it's a _very _good idea, and I'm sure I can easily convince you."

Before he could respond, Syd reached out and pulled their bodies together. The pink ranger gave him a small smirk. "What do you mean by 'This wasn't such a good idea?'" she asked, "I can totally tell you're enjoying this."

With that, she leaned up and kissed him with much more intensity. Sky didn't know what to do. A part of him wanted this, but there was still a small part of him that didn't. _"I'm in a different world now," _he thought to himself, _"Bridge doesn't matter. I'm with Syd. This is how things are supposed to be."_

He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss further, slithering his tongue between her lips and probing her mouth. _"This isn't too bad," _he thought, _"Almost like Bridge, but smaller and much more feminine."_

Not knowing what to do next, he allowed Syd to take the next move. The pink ranger removed his towel and pulled him towards the nearest wall without breaking theirkiss in the process. She then balanced herself between him and the wall and slowly hoisted herself around his torso. Syd broke away from their kiss only to nibble and suck around his jaw line and neck. "Your move," she whispered seductively into his ear before returning to his lips.

Sky smiled into the kiss and moved toward his bed. _"I guess this is another benefit of being the red ranger," _he thought, _"You have a room all for yourself, just for these types of… occasions."_

Once they arrived at their destination, he slowly eased her onto the mattress and began to work at removing her clothing. Although extremely nice to look at, the lingerie proved to be painfully difficult to remove. "I'm sorry," she hissed, realizing his problem, "Maybe it will work better if I'm on top?"

He rolled back over and allowed her to sit on top of him. "Good idea Bridge," he mumbled without thinking.

Syd suddenly stopped and drew away from him, a hurt expression on her face. "What?" he asked.

"You just said 'Good idea Bridge.' Is there anything that you've been doing behind my back?"

"No," Sky replied, "It's just part of the confusion, I swear. In this other world, I guess you could call it, in which I'm the blue ranger, I'm with Bridge."

"So you're confessing to me that you like men now?"

"That's not what I mean. Here, I'm not supposed to I guess, but in the world where everything is normal, I do."

"I should have listened to you in the first place. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea that I came over tonight…" Syd began to climb off of him.

"No. I want you to stay. I've been having a great time so far."

"Really?" she asked getting back onto his lap.

"Should we maybe start where we left off?" She rocked her hips, grinding her body into Sky's arousal, electing a groan of pleasure from him.

"I'd take that as a yes," she continued with a giggle.

And Sky just let his body go into autopilot.

xxx

He awoke the next morning to an empty bed. "Hmm," he said to no one in particular, "I specifically remember going to sleep with her."

Yawning, Sky got out of bed and began to make the sheets before going to morning training. The crinkling of paper caught his attention. Lying on Syd's place in his bed was a small note.

_Sky:_

_I'm sorry, but as you know it is against regulation to be in a relationship with a fellow squad member. That is why I had to leave before someone caught us together. I would have woken you up to say goodbye, but you seemed so tired yesterday that I thought I should let you sleep. See you at breakfast._

_XOXOXOXO,_

_Syd_

After reading the note, he looked at the clock. _"Great, running late again," _he thought. He threw the note in the trash after making caution to tear it up so that there was no possibility someone would find out about he and the pink ranger's relationship. Then he pulled a new uniform out of his closet and headed for a quick shower.

In a record ten minutes later, he was ready and heading out for breakfast. Nothing could prepare him for what he heard as he was walking through the rangers' common room. "So I can't wait to get some toast," he overheard Bridge saying, "I heard it was extra buttery today."

"Oh Bridge!" said Z between laughing, "I find it so cute how you wiggle your fingers whenever you say 'buttery.'"

"I do not!" Bridge replied in denial.

Sky didn't want to hear the rest. It was too painful. He had thought that being with Syd would fill the hole that Bridge had left when he arrived in this strange parallel life, but it didn't. The fact that Bridge was with someone else only made him hurt more.

xxx

"So what happened this morning?" Syd asked.

The couple was hanging out in Sky's room. She was curled up behind him on the bed, her legs on either side of him, stroking his hair.

"You weren't at breakfast and Z said she and Bridge saw you running out of the common room like something was bothering you.

"Nothing…" Sky replied with a sigh.

"Sky Tate, don't you lie to me," snapped the pink ranger.

"I would tell you, it's just that you would call it silly. And I don't think you would like it very much."

"I'm your girlfriend! That's what I'm here for!" Syd protested, "Just tell me. I promise I won't be mad."

"Syd, I think we need to break up!" he blurted out.

This, he instantly regretted. Nothing pained him more than seeing the hurt look on her face. Tears welled up in her blue eyes as she tried to find some way to reason with him.

"I'm sorry," he continued, "but everything just doesn't feel right at the moment. And it isn't just you and me; it's being the red ranger, having Grumm gone, just everything! Nothing has seemed normal since yesterday and I don't know why. I'm supposed to be the blue ranger, we're all supposed to still be fighting Grumm, and Bridge is supposed to be who I'm with, not you!"

"So this is what it's about!" Syd yelled back, "It's been about Bridge this whole time! Well I have a newsflash for you Sky: _Bridge isn't even fucking gay! _Last time I checked, he and Z were together and extremely happy! I don't get why you're so set on someone you can't have!"

"Because I love him."

He had said it. If only Bridge was there to hear it. The word felt so foreign to him. _Love. _He couldn't remember the last time he said it, or if he even used it before. But no one was more deserving of it than Bridge. He was his absolute everything. There was never a moment that he regretted being with him, or that he wasn't happy. He now realized that he, Sky Tate, loved Bridge Carson. And now it was too late to tell him.

"You _what?_" Syd shrieked.

"You heard me," Sky snapped back.

"But that's impossible!" she shouted, "You've never even been with him! You're not even gay!"

"How would you know that? You're not me. You've never been in my head, felt my emotions and thought my thoughts. You have no right to say that."

"_How do I know? Because I'm the one you fucked senseless last night!_" she yelled in absolute fury.

"I hate to break it to you, but there is a difference between love and lust. You can easily fuck without loving someone. A whore like you totally should know that. Now if you could kindly do me a favor and leave Sydney; the door is over there."

Sky motioned towards the door.

"I can't believe you, and _I am not a whore!_" hissed Syd as she left.

Sky sat on his bed and ran his hands through his hair. "So I do love Bridge," he said, "And now there's nothing I can do about it."

But realization soon struck him.

"Maybe that's why I was sent here. I don't know who, or what could have done it, but someone wants me to fix things. Someone knew I was making the wrong decision and decided to put me in a world without Bridge so I knew what I did wrong. Maybe that's what I need to do to get out of here. I need to make Bridge fall in love with me again."

A/N: I mean no hate towards Syd. Her bitchy attitude was just part of the plot c:


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I was super surprised to see a bit more feedback and follows. Thanks to you all c: Anyway, this is one of the shorter chapters. I think everything beyond this is about 1,500+ words or so. Currently working on chapter seven, so the whole thing is almost done. Just uploading every once in a while.

Bridge stared at him across from the table as he ate his usual morning intake of toast. It was odd that the red ranger wanted to sit with him, and even stranger that he was actually being nice when he normally dismissed him, finding him annoying and completely weird. "So why are you sitting with me?" asked the green ranger, "I mean there are lots more seats around here. It's not like this was a last resort or something."

"Why wouldn't I sit with you?" replied Sky, obviously confused as he picked at his eggs, "Isn't that what friends do?"

"That's the problem," said Bridge, "we aren't friends."

Sky was in shock, "What do you mean? You're my closest friend at the academy!" he exclaimed.

Bridge laughed a little. "Define friend, because under my definition you're far from it."

"What do you mean? Can you at least tell me what happened?" Sky asked.

"You really don't remember?"

"Remember, I've been really confused lately and can't remember a thing. I don't know anything. I really would like to know. Tell me everything about us since the beginning," he begged.

"Well you and I obviously joined the academy when we were very young, due to our abilities," Bridge explained, "However, I arrived much later than you and Syd. When I got here, it was already difficult enough to adjust; I had been home schooled most of my life and didn't have any real friends. You only made it worse."

"How? I've been nothing but nice to you ever since we've met."

Bridge gave him a strange look and continued.

"When I was assigned to your squad, I was so excited to finally have someone to talk to and I was ready to be friends. You however, didn't have the same idea. You were one of the most popular students in the academy. Your grades and training scores were absolutely flawless. The fact that every female being on the planet seemed to be attracted to you also helped too. So it came as no surprise that the big bad popular boy would reject an awkward gawky nerd like me. As you said you 'Couldn't afford to waste your time on such a pathetic excuse for a cadet, who couldn't even manage to hit a simple target with a laser beam'

"You rejected and humiliated me in front of the rest of the academy and I gave up on you. I was lucky that Syd wasn't as vicious, otherwise I don't know if I would have ever made any friends…"

Bridge trailed off.

"Bridge," said Sky, "I'm so sorry. I don't remember any of this, but I do regret doing it to you if I did. Let me make it up to you. Is there any time you want to go somewhere and get to know each other better?"

"Sure," replied Bridge, "Maybe we can just go out tonight?"

"Go out to where?"

"I don't know. Just… out. I've lived in Newtech forever and I've never really seen the

nightlife. I've been stuck in this base too long."

"Okay. Call me on my morpher when you're ready."

xxx

It was almost eleven pm and Sky was just about ready for his night out with Bridge. He took even more care in his looks than on his night with Syd. Everything needed to be perfect.

After hours of careful decision making, he had finally decided on what to wear. Dark straight-legged jeans, which were as skinny as they could possibly be, a casual dark blue button up shirt and a perfectly cut black blazert. His hair was done very nicely. He wanted to move on from his usual style where there was never a hair out of place and look a little less uptight. He settled for a messy faux-hawk. "I'd hate to sounds narcissistic, but I look pretty damn sexy," he said to himself.

His morpher beeped, signaling that Bridge was ready for him. "Yes?" he answered.

"I'm ready for you," replied Bridge on the other line, "Meet me outside?"

"Sure."

Sky hung up his morpher and was ready to go.

xxx

"I can't believe I've never been out here at night before!" Bridge exclaimed as they walked through the brightly lit streets, "I didn't even know everything stayed open this late."

Sky nodded, "It is pretty amazing."

"I find it kind of strange how there's barely anyone out here right now. You'd think lots of people would like to stay out late like this."

"Well Bridge, it is a Tuesday. Many people have work, and everyone our age has school."

"Isn't that strange," Bridge said, "that if we weren't Power Rangers, we'd be in school right now. It almost isn't fair…"

"To us or the normal kids?"

"To them. They get to lead normal boring lives, while we get to hang out in the base everyday, doing pretty much whatever we want."

"I think it is," Sky replied, "Passing a calculus test isn't nearly as hard as fighting monsters all day and battling giant robots."

"Yes, I guess that's true. But don't you think it's strange to think of how our lives would be if we never found SPD? I honestly love it, but sometimes I wish I could just have a day that was… normal."

It was true. Ever since they joined the academy at the age of ten, their lives had been far from normal. Things only became worse when now, six years later, they were being thrown into battle. Almost like mother birds threw their young out of their nest. It was either do or die.

Sky remembered his first battle with his fellow B-Squad rangers. They all were terrified knowing that it wasn't a simulation and that there were no second chances.

Although fighting aliens every day was a daring and difficult job, Sky couldn't help but wonder how high school would be like. He would be in his junior year at the moment, taking classes like Algebra II and Chemistry, rather than marksmanship and survival. He would be more worried about finding a date to Homecoming than defeating an evil alien overlord. His problems wouldn't be any worse than normal teenage drama. The normal side of life actually seemed rather nice.

"So what do you think you would be like if you were in school right now?" Bridge asked.

"I don't know," replied Sky, "I'd like to think that I would have good friends, be passing all of my classes, and maybe be on the football team, but you honestly never know. You?"

"I would hope to be taking an advanced science course," he replied, "Maybe looking to go to college and major in robotics. I probably wouldn't be too popular, so don't beat me up Mr. Football Jock."

The two laughed.

"You know," Sky said, "I'm almost glad I'm not normal. Yes, high school and normality are extremely appealing sometimes, but think about it. We're Power Rangers. We've done more than most people do in a lifetime. Every day I wake up and I get to defend the universe, travel to different planets, and when I have free time, hang out with my friends. I couldn't ask for a better life. It may be difficult at times, but it's all worth it."

Bridge smiled. "So you get to hang out with your friends every day? Does this mean we're…"

"Friends," Sky replied, "I want us to be friends."

Sky and Bridge returned to their separate rooms extremely late that night. They had both ventured to almost every corner of the city and seen every sight there was to see. They finally agreed to head back at about one.

"You know," said Bridge before returning to his room, "I wonder how things would be different if you were the blue ranger like you thought you were."

"Oh you would never know," replied Sky with a smile..

A/N: Reviews are so very appreciated. I won't hold chapter five for ransom for x amount of reviews, but more reviews may cause it to be posted faster. xxxMarshmallow


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: What's this? A fast update? Indeed it is c: Just so you know, this is about half way until the end. At the moment, chapter eight is just being started so updates should be relatively fast.

He tossed and turned in his sheets, unable to sleep. When the squad was first assigned to their positions, Sky was often jealous that Jack got his own room as red ranger. Now, he would give anything to have his roommate back. His room seemed so lonely without another occupying it with him and his bed was way too large for just one person. He missed having someone with him while he slept. Being red ranger sure wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Sky rolled over once again, frustrated. He looked over at his clock. Great, he would only get about five hours of sleep that night. He hated being sleepy for early morning drills. Why was it that all your thoughts about your day decided to run through your head when you most desperately needed sleep? Giving up, Sky rolled out of bed, grabbed his data pad, a pillow, and a blanket, and decided to search for a late night snack.

As he pressed the 'open' button on the doors, they slid open to reveal an empty, dark common room. When he walked out, the room lit up dimly, thanks to the motions sensors that were recently installed around the room. "I guess that's better than having to search for a light switch," he commented.

He made his way across the room to the food computer. After pressing a few buttons, a glass of chocolate milk and a fluff sandwich appeared. Sky took his snack and made his way to one of the plush sofas in the center of the room. After setting his food on the coffee table, he put his pillow down and wrapped his blanket around himself. Then he unlocked his data pad, clicked on the Netflix app and plugged in some earbuds. He was running a little behind on his episodes of True Blood.

Within about fifteen minutes, Sky's show was interrupted by a loud thud and a groan. He pulled his earbuds out of his ears and jumped off the sofa to investigate. What he encountered was Bridge, who had happened to have tripped behind the couch. "What are you doing up?" he asked, "We have early morning drills tomorrow. You should be in bed so you won't be tired."

"And I would say the same for you," Bridge replied in a groggy tone, cracking his eyes open and blinking a few times.

Sky rolled his eyes. "Why are you even out here?" he said, continuing to question the green ranger.

"Out where?"

"Oh real funny. You were sneaking out, weren't you?"

"No," Bridge replied in a defensive tone, "For your information I happen to sleepwalk."

"Sleepwalk?"

"Yes. Some nights, I'll go to sleep in my room, and wake up in completely different places. One time it was Kat's lab, another was on top of Cruger's desk in the command center; he wasn't too pleased about that," Bridge added with a chuckle, "But by far, the weirdest occurrence was when I somehow managed to lock myself in a containment cell. Boom had to come and get me out."

Sky narrowed his eyes in disbelief and confusion. Bridge was possibly one of the weirdest people in the entire galaxy. "Well since you're already up," he said, "Want to join me? I have True Blood on my data pad and I can go get another glass of milk and a fluff sandwich."

"Fluff sandwich?"

"Yeah, fluff. You know, peanut butter and marshmallow cream?"

"Never had it."

"Well you ought to try some. Get yourself settled and I'll get the food." Sky smiled.

Bridge nodded and took his place on the couch under the blanket.

xxx

"So Kat, Cruger sent me in here. He said you had my blood samples done."

It was late in the afternoon and Sky was visiting Dr. Manx for his follow-up on what might just be wrong with him. Drills earlier that morning were like hell, as he predicted. He had only slept a couple hours before being awoken by the screams of his alarm. The only thing that got him though it was Bridge, who was feeling just as awful.

"Yes, I have them here," the doctor replied, "They read as normal, so there's no serious illness going on inside you. I'm starting to think that if you're telling the truth, whatever brought you here was something external."

"Well what could have done this?"

"I don't know. Anything. It could have been an enemy, a wormhole, or something possessing teleporting powers. Does anything come to mind? Think of the last twenty-four hours that you remember everything being 'normal.'"

Sky thought. Now that he really thought about it, he didn't really remember that much from the day before things changed, besides his fight with Bridge.

"Sorry, I can't think of anything," he said, giving Kat an apologetic look, "I'll let you know if something comes up. Thanks for your time."

"No problem."

Kat gave him a small smile as he exited the lab.

xxx

"What a wonderful day," Bridge exclaimed as he tossed yet another pebble into the lake.

He and Sky were on yet another excursion together. This time, they decided to go to the park.

"It is indeed," Sky replied.

The two were situated underneath a large tree, staring out at the water in front of them. It was smooth like glass, except for when Bridge threw the occasional pebble. "So how are things going with Z?" asked Sky.

He sounded as if he were a friend just trying to keep the small talk going, but really he was wondering if the other boy would be back on the market anytime soon. "I don't know," Bridge muttered, scratching the back of his head in confusion, "We don't really talk much. Things have been kinda awkward since we…"

"Since you what?" Sky interrupted.

"Well we, you know," Bridge blushed and waved his hands a little, trying to get the idea though, obviously not wanting to finish the sentence.

What he was implying suddenly got to him.

"You didn't."

Sky's face fell, and a new emotion bubbled up in his stomach. What was it? Anger, confusion, jealousy? He didn't know, however it didn't feel good.

"Yeah. I thought it would be great and everything, but no. Things are just so… awkward." Bridge sighed and hung his head.

"But why?" Sky protested, "How long have you even been with her? Did you at least use protection?"

"Relax dad!" Bridge joked, "And yes. I would be stupid if I didn't. Why are you so worried anyway? If anyone should be worried about someone's sex life it should be me worrying about you! And don't ask how I know. Let's just say, you're right next door and the walls are a lot thinner than we all think."

Sky blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay." Bridge gave him a smile.

"However," he continued, "things with her just aren't the same. I'd hate to do it after everything we've… done, but I think it's for the best. If she doesn't break up with me by the end of the week, I think I'll have to do it."

There was soon an awkward, opressive silence between the two. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, Sky picked up a pebble and threw it into the lake in an attempt to skip it. He failed. "Damn," he said, "I've never been able to do that."

"What?" asked Bridge, "Skip rocks? It's easy, let me show you."

He got up from his place behind the tree. "Well first you have to find the right stone," he said, "I think the one you had was too round. They need to be the flat kind."

Suddenly, realization hit Sky like a slap to the face. "Bridge," he said slowly, "repeat what you just said…"

"They need to be the flat kind?"

"No."

"Too round?"

"Not that."

"You have to find the right stone?"

"Now just the word."

"Right?"

"No."

"You?"

"No, no, no, no."

"Find? To? Right? You? Find? Stone? Sky, I don't understand! What are you talking about?" Bridge yelled.

"Wait, repeat the last one."

"Stone."

"That's it!" Sky exclaimed, "I know the key now! The stone is the key!"

"Sky, I'm a little worried," said Bridge, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry Bridge," said Sky, "but this will have to wait another day. I need to get to the base pronto!"

He couldn't believe that he didn't remember before. It was all coming back to him. Zortech, his fight with Bridge, and the stone. "So Zortech was behind this all this time…" he said, "I can't believe I didn't catch this earlier!"

There was only one problem. Sky had no clue where it was. "Maybe I can check in my nightstand, that's where I left it last time."

He hurried to his room and yanked the drawer open, only to be disappointed. "How the hell am I supposed to get back now?" he asked himself, "The thing's so tiny! It could be anywhere!"

Sky sighed and prepared himself for a hellish search when his morpher interrupted him.

"Tate, I need you down in sector three. There's a disturbance," said Cruger.

"On it," he replied.

A/N: About True Blood: No, I do not watch the shows, so any references you may make, I will not understand. And about the fluff sandwiches: Funny story, I met my boyfriend because of them. We were both having lunch with mutual friends in our high school cafeteria and he packed one for lunch. I noticed and couldn't help but ask, "Is that marshmallow on your sandwich?" He said yes and offered that we share. Just thought I'd share that little story c:  
Oh and another thing: I have motion sensor lights in the bulding I teach music lessons in. They scare the living hell out of me every single time. It feels as if there's ghosts in the hallways.  
Anyway, enough of my random stories, as you all know reviews=faster updates. I can't thank those who do enough c:  
xxxMarshmallow


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: All apologies for the long update time. Anyway, I have some kinda awesome news: Matt Austin actually tweeted me! I literally died when I got the email. He was basically asking his followers random questions and here's the actual conversation:  
"Thanks for the feedback every1. And now, what sort of secret could a new gf/bf tell you that would change how you think of them?"  
To which I replied, "That they listen to Nickelbaclk... And enjoy it."  
I wasn't really expecting him to read, let alone find it amusing. I seriously did a little happy dance in my room when I found his reply of, "Oh my lord."  
So sorry for the long spew of happiness, just thought I'd share one of my greatest moments on the twitter. On with the story. Oh, and for those of you who forgot what the stone was, chapter one should refresh your memory c:

Sky had hoped that the "disturbance" Cruger called him on was going to be something important, but much to his dismay it was far from that. A few alien thugs had gotten into a relatively physical disagreement and were being charged with disruption of peace. He had them both unarmed and detained within minutes. "But we weren't doing anything wrong!" one of the criminals shouted from his containment card.

Rolling his eyes, Sky decided to ignore him. That's what they all said.

He stored the cards in his pocket file and added their records into his data pad. Part of him almost wished they hadn't defeated Grumm yet. The guy was frustrating sometimes and not to mention, just downright annoying, but without his evil followers constantly descending on Earth, there just wasn't that much action for SPD anymore. Things now were almost boring.

After finishing the criminal's records, Sky hopped onto his motorcycle, fastened his helmet, and headed back to base.

"Oh please Sky," said Syd, "Quit complaining! The most action I got today was going around and collecting people we had warrants on. And do you know how awful that is? One of them even started hitting on me…"

"Was he cute?" asked Bridge

"Are you kidding me?" Syd shrieked, "He was at least fifty! And he was blue! Not my type _at all_!"

The rangers all laughed.

"So Bridge," asked Z, "any interesting calls today?"

"Oh yes," he replied, "And I think mine tops all of yours. It turns out that the 'disturbance' Cruger had me go investigate was a group of Fernovian streakers."

"Oh dear god," Z replied, letting out a small gag, "Guys or girls?"

"A combination. And it was terrible. I didn't want them in the containment cards naked, so I had to cuff them all and dress them myself."

"Well I hope none of those women laid any hands on you. After all, you are mine."

She curled up to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Sky felt the jealousy begin to boil in his stomach. Clenching his fists, he gritted his teeth in an attempt to suppress it. "I'm sorry, but I just realized I need to go find something," he said.

"Okay, I'll go with you," said Jack, "What is it?"

"Nothing you can help me with," Sky mumbled as he walked out of the common room.

It wasn't a total lie. He was dying for some alone time so he could find the stone and get out of this strange universe as soon as possible. The problem was, he had no idea where to start. "I guess I'll just start at the entrance and work my way around," he said to himself.

xxx

Outside of the base, there seemed to be no place where a small stone would be hidden, except for in the landscaping. Searching through dirt and trees for something that was most likely not there was something Sky really didn't want to do, but he knew that if he acted too lazy, it would never be found. Letting out a breath of annoyance, he journeyed to the first patch of foliage. He looked around the trees, under rocks, and in bushes. He even began to kick up the dirt to see if it was possibly buried somewhere. No success.

Frustrated, Sky moved to the next patch. Still no luck. "God damn it! It's never going to be found!" he shouted.

"What can't be found?" someone asked him.

"Something!" Sky shouted back as he bent down and looked under a rock, "Now just leave me alone!"

"That's not the way to talk to someone who has something that you will be looking for in the next, I'd say thirty minutes."

He looked up from his work to see Bridge standing over him, smiling.

"And what would that be?" he snapped.

"I don't know, maybe these," Bridge spun a small ring of silver keys around his finger, "I would imagine it would be very difficult to go out on duty when you don't have anything to start your motorcycle with."

Sky got up from his place on the ground. "Give them here," he demanded, outstretching his hand.

"What's the magic word?" Bridge sang out in a childish voice.

"It's not funny! Okay, fine. Will you _please _give me the keys to my motorcycle?"

Bridge smiled and tossed him the keys. "So what's been bothering you?" he asked.

"I can't tell you," Sky replied, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"You can't or won't?"

"A combination of both."

"Want to go somewhere?" Bridge suddenly asked.

"Where?"

"I don't know; just somewhere."

Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed Sky's arm and pulled him away.

xxx

The whole thing was just like a fantasy, really. With the way Bridge just whisked him away, it was almost like a something you read in a romance novel. However, instead of being accompanied by a gorgeous girl that he had met at some sleazy nightclub bar, he was with another man who at the moment saw him as nothing more than friends. "Beautiful isn't it?" Bridge asked as they sat barefoot in the sand, looking out on the horizon.

"Why doesn't anyone come here?" Sky asked, "This place is completely deserted."

"Some people don't like to travel a long way just to get somewhere special," Bridge replied with a smile, "They fail to learn that it isn't just about the destination, but the journey as well."

What Bridge had said was true. Sky couldn't think of many people he knew that would be willing to travel like they had to visit the gorgeous beach he had brought him to. It started with a three-hour drive further north of the more populated cities. Here, there was rarely a honk of a horn, any chatter amongst people, or the siren of a squad car. The last town they passed was about forty miles away. After parking in a small patch of dirt on the side of the road, it was another hour of hiking through the dense forest.

The sights were breathtaking and sharing it with Bridge was even better. He now regretted his complaining on what seemed like an endless journey at the time.

That journey was worth it, because he would love to just forget everything and stay where he was forever. Pale white sand that was almost silk to the touch stretched about a quarter mile to his left. To his right, rocks jutted out into the water, forming tide pools in their crevasses. A cave was also formed in them. The turquoise water was as calm as ever, for a reef broke much of the rough surf. He longed to swim out there and see the hundreds of colorful fish that inhabited it. Tiny, gentle waves slowly rolled in and licked at his toes as he and Bridge watched the sunset.

"How did you manage to find this place?" Sky asked, "It's out in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure thousands of people pass by every day and don't even know what they're missing."

"It's actually a pretty funny story," Bridge replied, "My family was driving home from a road trip one day, when our car broke down. My dad offered to walk to the nearest town to get a tow truck and left my mom and I here. A couple of hours later, we were obviously bored so we decided to just venture down the trail. It's funny how fate works sometimes, isn't it?"

Sky nodded.

"I like it better this way," Bridge continued, "If people started to discover this place, pretty soon it would be overrun by tourists. The rich would be building houses down here and this beach would be their property. And to think of what would happen to everything. I'm pretty sure the reef would soon be gone and the water would lose that color. Worst of all, we couldn't come here without anyone to get away."

An awkward silence ensued.

"So I see that things with Z are back to normal then?" Sky said, desperate for conversation.

"Yeah," Bridge replied, "We discussed it some and she just said it was because of stress from work. Nothing else."

"Well that's good," he replied, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"What's wrong," asked Bridge, "I can still feel that something's bugging you."

Sky chewed on his lip. Sometimes Bridge's powers worked too well. He still didn't want to risk things. What if he didn't feel the same way?

"You can tell me anything Sky," Bridge assured him, "I promise."

Drawing in a shaky breath, Sky decided that it was time. "Bridge," he said, "I'm…"

"You're what?" Bridge looked into his eyes and Sky saw nothing but genuine happiness. Maybe him being with Z wasn't so bad after all.

"I'm… so happy that we're finally friends," was what he settled with.

"Me too," said Bridge, "You know, I've always considered taking Z here on a date, but I think it's best if this remains just between you and me. It can be our special spot."

With that, Sky was done holding back. Who knew, maybe Bridge would be happier with him. After waiting so long, he turned to his new friend and looked him in the eyes. Then without thinking he leaned forward into a passionate kiss. He finally let himself go.

Bridge didn't seem to protest. In fact, he seemed to do the exact opposite. Following his partner's movements, he rolled Sky on top of him. A wave suddenly came in, soaking both of them and their clothes, but they didn't care. In the heat of the moment, Sky reached for the zipper on Bridge's uniform jacket in an attempt to remove the clothing.

Bridge broke away.

"I'm sorry," he said, "But I just can't do this."

A/N: O_o Ohhh! A cliffhanger! Hahaha. So the story is almost done being written, then after that it'll be relatively fast updates I hope. c: And just so you know, from this chapter there will only be about four to five more until the end.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So sorry for the long update time! Been really busy lately.

Sky awoke the next morning and headed for the cafeteria for breakfast. It was no surprise that Bridge was absent. The green ranger had been ignoring him ever since their encounter the evening before. He even refused any conversation during the car ride back. It had been three hours of nothing but complete and awkward silence. "He told me he ate early; said he had a project to work on with Boom before his patrols and training with C squad today," said Jack, interrupting his thoughts.

He gave him a confused look. "Don't act like that," Jack continued, "I know what you're thinking. It's written all over your face. Plus, I've seen how you two have been acting towards each other since last evening. What happened?"

Sky contemplated whether to tell Jack about the circumstances of the new quiet game he and Bridge were currently playing with each other and decided against it. "It's nothing," he assured him, "We just had a small disagreement last night. I'm sure it'll blow over after a while."

Jack nodded and returned to eating his oatmeal.

It was only a few moments until the command center alarm sounded. _"B squad cadets! A suspect is attacking the city! Take immediate action!"_

It looked as if breakfast wasn't going to happen that morning.

xxx

The roaring of sirens announced the rangers' arrival as they pulled in front of Newtech City's federal bank. They had arrived just in time, as a familiar figure was storming out of the building with large sums of cash pouring out of his arms.

"Zortech!" Sky shouted, "The game ends here!"

The other rangers looked at him, confused. "How do you know his name?" asked Z, "We've never battled him before!"

"No time to explain!" he replied, "I think it's time to suit up!"

The rangers pulled out their morphers and were in their trademark spandex suits and helmets. They all withdrew their weapons and charged towards the monster. However, their efforts didn't stand a chance. Just as before, nothing was able to pierce Zortech's armor. "He's too strong!" Syd shouted, "How the hell are we supposed to stop him?"

"Well maybe we need to get stronger!" Sky replied, "It's battleizer time!"

The other rangers nodded. "SWAT mode!"

With their weapons upgraded, they made their move. Unfortunately, even with the most advanced SPD technology at their hands, it was still no use. "Pathetic rangers!" the monster roared, "Nothing can defeat me! It's time I leave!"

With that, he threw up his arms, sending many grenades into the air. Then, everything seemed to freeze. Sky saw them coming, but his feet felt as if they were glued to the ground. There were too many surrounding him to escape. He yelled out to the other rangers, hoping that they were to suffer a better fate than him, but his voice seemed to be lost in the air. No one could hear. The grenades hit the ground as he watched in horror. Five. Four. Three. Two. _Boom._

Fire erupted around them all as they were thrown fifty feet into the air. He instantly felt the protection of his suit vanish as he de-morphed mid air. Screams from his friends were the only sound he heard around him. Then, he felt nothing but searing pain as his body came into contact with the pavement. Moments after, his left leg was still hurting immensely. Looking down, he saw flames devouring his flesh. He frantically tore off his uniform jacket and covered them. Luckily, he was able to put them out.

Then, more sounds came. First the laugh. It was terrible. He wondered how anyone, even the most evil of villains could manage to laugh at such suffering. It filled the air and he wanted nothing more than for it to stop. No one, not even Grumm was that low. Next came the footsteps. He could do nothing as he watched Zortech step over his fallen body and teleport away. They had lost yet again.

Sky finally managed to sit up and inspect the damages to himself. He was lucky. Besides the burn, the only serious injuries present were bruises and scrapes. However, his friends were in no better shape. The whole left side of Syd's face was scratched up and bruising from her fall from the grenades. It also had a few small burns. Her lip was busted open and bleeding. It was already beginning to swell. Z lay facedown on the pavement, groaning in pain. It was obvious that she had broken her arm, for it was at an extremely unnatural angle. Bridge was at her side trying to calm her, but he didn't look like he was doing any better. The right sleeve of his jacket was sliced open, revealing severe lacerations down the length of his arm. He had his hand firmly placed over them in a sorry attempt to help the bleeding, but it was no use. His hair looked sticky from blood, as there was some dripping down the side of his face from his hard fall to the pavement. However, Jack was the worst. He was lying on the ground, far away from everyone else. He wasn't moving. Biting back tears, Sky hurried to his side. "Jack!" he shouted, "Can you hear me?"

No response. "No…" he choked, "_Jack!_"

He didn't move. "Bridge!" Sky screamed, "Come here! It's Jack! I think he's… He can't be but…"

Before he could finish, Bridge was there. Syd and Z attempted to follow, but due to their injuries were unsuccessful. He winced as he raised his arm to remove his glove and then waved it to scan Jack's body. "…There's no signs of life in him," he whispered.

"What did you say?" Sky asked.

"Jack is dead," Bridge stated, with almost no emotion. He didn't know what to feel.

The words hit him harder than a freight train. They were completely foreign to his ears. Jack dead? No. It was impossible. Whether he was the red or blue ranger, Jack Landors couldn't die on duty. It just wasn't how he was supposed to go. Sobs wrenched out of his body as he lifted his fellow cadet off the ground. "It's okay buddy," he said frantically as he pulled his morpher off his belt and dialed it, "We're going to call Kat and take you back home. She's going to fix this, you hear me? You're going to make it. You can't die like this. Do you understand? _It isn't supposed to end this way for you!_"

"What's the matter Tate?" he heard Kat ask from his morpher.

Given the situation, he almost forgot he dialed it. "It's Jack," he said trying to hold back his emotions in order to get through to her better, "He's fallen and he's in critical condition. Please tell me you can fix him. _You have to!_"

Kat sighed, "I'm sorry Sky, there's nothing I can do," she said, sadness taking over her words.

Sky let out a scream of agony and threw his morpher to the ground, shattering it. "Listen Jack, I'm sorry I was such an ass to you all the time! You deserved to be the red ranger, not me. There was no one better than you for the job. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I think blue was the best color for me. If you're going to die on me, at least leave knowing that."

With that, he slowly rose to his feet with his fallen teammate in his arms. It was going to be a hard ride back to the base.

xxx

Jack looked completely different in the infirmary bed than he had lying in the road earlier that day. He looked more as if he had passed in his sleep rather than being struck down by an evil monster. Kat had cleaned most of him up and put him in a fresh new uniform to prepare him for the mortuary. His funeral was to be held later that week. "He didn't deserve this," Syd mumbled between sniffles, "He as such a great ranger."

Z nodded in agreement. "He was also the greatest friend anyone could ask for," she added, "I don't know what I'm going to do without him now."

For the first time, Bridge was beyond words. Everything was still sinking in for him. "Goodbye Jack," was all he managed to say before choking up. Before leaving, the three of them gave their last goodbye gestures. Syd pushed a few stray hairs out of his face and gave him a small smile. She didn't want to leave him with nothing but sadness from her. Bridge gave him a hug. It wasn't just the living that he was very up close and personal with. And his best friend gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "This isn't goodbye," said Z, "You'll always be with me."

She left the room crying harder than ever.

That left Sky. Once he was alone, he grabbed Jack's hand and fell to his knees, sobs instantly taking over his body. "I regret so much…" he started, "I should have not been so cruel to you. You were an amazing ranger Jack and I hope you left us knowing that. I know all of us are extremely proud to have fought by your side and I know you will still be with us every time we go into battle. It's not fair that you had to go this way and I promise that I will bring Zortech to justice. Your death will not be pointless. I'll make sure of that."

Suddenly, he felt something in Jack's hand. Carefully opening his fingers, he reached inside to retrieve the mystery object. What he saw astonished him. Now in his own hand was the same black stone he had taken off of the monster before he entered this strange mystery world. But he knew he couldn't leave just yet. No. He had a mission to complete.

Letting out an angry snarl, Sky reached for Jack's belt and took his morpher.

A/N: I presume you all hate me now. Am I correct?


End file.
